What Constitutes A Threat ?

Yesterday the New York Daily News reported that an Islamic group in Queens, New York, posted on their website, RevolutionMuslim.com, that the creators of South Park 'would probably end up like Theo Van Gogh.'  (Theo Van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered in 2004 because of a documentary he made about violence against Muslim women.)   A spokesman for the group says that the statement was not a threat, it was just a statement of fact. 

According to the article:

"Despite claims that they did not seek to invite violence against Stone and Parker, the site also reportedly revealed where the "South Park" creators work, and included a sermon calling for punishments for blasphemy against the Muslim religion."

It has been years since I have watched South Park.  The show is not for anyone who is offended by coarse language or irreverence.  However, the show has probably mocked every aspect of our society and most celebrities during the time it has been on the air.  The show has been threatened with lawsuits on a regular basis and has enraged someone or other pretty much every week.  However, all that said, threatening death for comic satire is something new to America.  I really think we need to examine this closely and see how we should deal with this.  It seems as if the website could reasonably be charged with making threats.  It also seems that there is a radical element within the Muslim faith that bears more of a resemblance to the Mafia than to a religion.